Monthly Archives: March 2020

Green Crosses

I noticed them on the drive home from the airport in January. Green crosses by the roadside. Those weren’t there when we left. In Canada roadside crosses usually mean there has been a fatal accident at that spot. They aren’t green though. I wondered what the significance was of these new German crosses. My first […]

Scammers At Work

In some ways I’m surprised it took so long. After all, the new coronavirus, COVID-19, was first identified at the end of December. You’ve probably seen the reports of people attempting to profit from the pandemic, selling hand sanitizer or toilet paper at inflated prices to a panicked public. In a free market economy I […]

Opening Pandora’s Box

Germans probably don’t realize it, but Pandora’s Box just opened. The COVID-19 pandemic is about to bring permanent, unintended, social change. Am I the only one who sees this? You know the myth, or at least you should, so I won’t repeat it. Once Pandora opened that box she couldn’t get the lid back on […]

Sign of The Times

  I guess rigs like this are more common than not these days, distancing passengers from the  person driving their bus. On Sunday, when I first saw this, I thought maybe the driver was taking his own precautions in not allowing people to board by the front door and making sure they couldn’t get near […]

A Conspiracy Of Bones

There’s never a beach around when you need one. Which means I’m not sure how I feel about A Conspiracy Of Bones, the new novel from Kathy Reichs, published today. I spend two weeks each summer on vacation in Maine, sitting on the beach all day and devouring mysteries and thrillers from the local library. […]

Take A Deep Breath….

I was going to post something about COVID-19 today. It is the hot topic after all. However, if you are like me you are probably getting sick of hearing about coronavirus. Tell me something new, don’t repeat the same information. But there is nothing new. The virus will spread. Most people will get it. The […]

Voice of Tolerance

Sometimes there are little surprises. Ties to history you didn’t realize were there. I was walking along the main street of my wife’s ancestral home town, Lippstadt, in northern Germany. It was there I cam across this bust. I recognized the name, Martin Niemöller. I hadn’t realized he was from Lippstadt. Niemöller was a pastor […]

We Care About You

Are you getting the same emails I am? Three airlines so far have let me know this week how much they care about me. I feel valued.  Well, not really. I don’t really need assurances that you are doing extra cleaning on your airplane cabins. Or that you are waiving fees for ticket changes. Pardon […]

No Hockey Tonight

I was planning on going to the hockey game tonight. Then the season was canceled. I’m not sure how I feel about that. The Freiburg Wolves were at the bottom of the league during my first two seasons here, fighting to avoid relegation. This season the team was a powerhouse, one I could see taking […]

Land of Confusion

Are you as confused as I am? Or have Canada’s leaders lost touch with reality? You have to be 16 to get a driver’s licence. Eighteen to vote. And that isn’t all. There are age restrictions on who can smoke tobacco or marijuana, or legally drink alcohol. You can’t serve in the military until you […]